I was a bit late on to the Game of Thrones bandwagon having just watched seasons 1 to 4 in a matter of two weeks. It had never peaked my interest before but after hearing friends constantly talking about how good it was, I thought I’d give it a try.

I’m glad I did because it’s easily one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

Due to the nature of its twisty turny plot and jaw-dropping OMG WTF moments, I will keep this post as spoiler free as possible but please be warned there may be some bits in this collection that you might want to avoid if you aren’t up to date to the end of season 4.

So, I stumbled upon a whole load of great G.O.T. YouTube clips and wanted to share them on here. Starting with the opening credits, I had really paid attention to these after seeing them the first couple of times, I just hummed along to the dramatic theme tune and waited for the show to start. Then someone told me that the opening credits change as more and more of Westeros is explored. So I’ve a new found appreciation of these credits and also the animation is terrific. Here’s a compilation of all the various locations visited in the opening credits seasons 1 to 4:

Next up, you know Game of Thrones has become a bit of a phenomenon when The Queen’s Guards play the theme tune outside Buckingham Palace:

And to finish up, whoever made this has skills (and too much time on their hands…and a talented cat):

SPOILERS AHEAD:

I was told two things as I began watching Game of Thrones: (1) that George R. R. Martin doesn’t give a flying fuck when it comes to killing off his main characters. I don’t think there are any ‘main’ characters in Game of Thrones as it’s an ensemble cast and the premise of the show is how all these different houses and characters are feuding with each other trying to gain an upper hand and seize power. It’s a fairly level playing field for the most part. (2) The other thing I was told as I was doing my catch up marathon was “Expect death, many deaths”. And so, as I reached the end of season 4, I have come to agree with both of these statements. If you begin to like a character for a redeeming quality, because they’re kick ass in battle or they make a great villain, I’d suggest you rein in these feelings of admiration if you want this character to live. Georgie M will slay that character right in front of your astonished eyes!

Case in point:

That being said, I do have my favourite characters. I like Catelyn and Robb Stark for their seemingly honourable quest to put things right. I like Renly as he also appears to be an honourable successor to the Iron Throne. I absolutely abhor Joffrey (as I’m sure everyone does!). This previous paragraph should be read with a hint of irony.

Just to add, if they do anything to either Daenerys Stormborn or Jon Snow, I will not be a happy little dove.

MORE SPOILERS AHEAD:

I have learnt through watching the episodes back to back, that the traditional cliff hanger/jaw dropping moment that you usually find in the final episode of a season, is placed in the penultimate episode of each Game of Thrones season…the Battle of Blackwater Bay, the Red Wedding, the Mountain and the Viper, etc. These moments with G.O.T. are so out of nowhere and brave in their audacity that my floor was holding my jaw for minutes as what I was watching tore my eyes out.

What people have now started to do, is record their reactions to these moments as they watch and then upload their reaction videos on to YouTube. It probably started off genuine but there are now a whole load of people doing this who are clearly over-reacting and playing up to the camera in a vain attempt to attract more views to their YouTube channel. You can spot the genuine ones though and their a gem when you see people sharing the moments you have a reacting in utter shock and terror, usually as one of their favourite characters meets the Angel of Death. Here’s a few of my favourites:

I’ll finish off now with one last YouTube clip which explains what’s happened in the lands of Westeros and Essos up until the end of season 3. It’s a good summing up of which houses are where and who is in alliance with whom. Obviously season 4 has been and gone now as well, but the chap who made this video doesn’t seem to have made one that covers the events of season 4 yet, so this’ll have to do for now 🙂